It is far more than just Konstantin Dimopoulos’ Greek heritage that has led him into a career of philotimo and social empathy; Dimopoulos’ 30-year devotion to the field of social art is founded upon the fundamental notion that “ideas are more powerful than solid objects”.
From domestic violence to environmental ecocide and cultural appropriation, Dimopoulos’ work has raised crucial awareness for social issues over the past three decades, with his most recent work centred on the visually prevalent yet socially hidden concept of homelessness.
Through his collaborative social art installation titled The Purple Rain, Dimopoulos uses technology fused with social will in order to show viewers that homelessness does not mean hopelessness. Through The Purple Rain, he transforms the exterior of four locations across Melbourne: Fehily Contemporary Gallery in Collingwood, St Mary’s House of Welcome in Brunswick, the Australian Catholic University (ACU) in Fitzroy and the social enterprise STREAT café in Melbourne’s CBD. Over ten weeks, the facades of these locations are converted into artistic canvases through Dimopoulos’ installation of large circular purple dots, each attributed with a name and an interactive QR code. With the use of smartphones, viewers are able to scan the QR codes in order to interact with first-hand accounts of individuals who have prospered from the adversity of being homeless.
There are many reasons behind the artistic and engaging attributes of The Purple Rain. For Dimopoulos, the repetitive saturation of the colour purple speaks of a great dejection within our community.
“I used purple because it is a sad colour. Even in Greek churches, purple is used in the icons to represent something sad.”
The issue of homelessness is a desolate one to the artist because it represents a true “lack of empathy” from one man to another. Furthermore, the technologically interactive nature of the installation aims to personalise the global issue of homelessness by naming the storytellers and taking the viewer through a word for word narrative account.
“The idea behind the interaction is that as soon as you know someone’s name and their story, the relationship becomes personalised and the whole view one has on the other changes.”
The repetitive saturation of purple colour is significant to him as it makes visible the unseen and the unheard. As a stigmatised social issue, we commonly forget that human souls are at the centre of the topic and these individuals deserve nothing but respect and equal rights to life.
“It is about giving people a chance and selling the idea that homelessness is not what people think it is. The stigma is a very small amount.”
The current state of homelessness in Australia is devastating and one that requires critical attention. For Dimopoulos, this basic address can be achieved through “education” as the “key” to awareness. According to Homelessness Australia, one in every 200 Australians is homeless, meaning 105,237 Australians sleep on the streets each night. The largest percentage of homeless people are youths, with 17 per cent of homeless people in Australia being under the age of twelve. These figures are extremely alarming and allude to a concept that rattles the social construct of our society; just how can such a reality exist in a first world country? Despite public vilification, homelessness occurs at the hand of six different pathways: “mental health, domestic violence, housing crisis, substance use, youth and migration”. For migrants just like our mothers, fathers, yiayiades and pappoudes, homelessness is resorted to as a result of post traumatic stress and lack of support.
It is an unbearable thought that human beings in our very own community are suffering at the hands of destitution and social stigmatisation. The statistics above indicate that clearly our social welfare approach to the issue is not working.
Australia is a country where homelessness should not exist, and through the education provided in The Purple Rain, Dimopoulos aims to “put out a red flag” to make the community realise this. Believe it or not, “homelessness is an issue that affects us all. Financially, through taxes, or socially through witness” – we are all touched. And if there is anything that his creative installation shows its viewers, it is that homelessness certainly does not mean hopelessness; prosperity can certainly be spawned from adversity.
*For more information about the installation and to find out how you can contribute to addressing the issue of homelessness in Australia, head to www.thepurplerain.net